Vampires of Eternity
Twice Bitten Not Shy
Gwendolyn Harris has no idea what she is getting involved in when Sebastian Ashford and Christian St. John hire her event planning company, An Affair to Remember, for the grand opening of their new club.
For the last few years Gwen has done nothing but work to make her business a success. But when she looks into the haunting eyes of Christian and Sebastian, she wonders if her fantasies are about to become reality. Her ex-husband decides they are a danger to her and is determined to keep her away from them.
Sebastian and Christian had been searching for the key to their curse for hundreds of years. When they realize that danger has followed them to town, they know they don’t have a lot of time. Their hearts tell them that Gwen is their one, but can they convince her before it’s too late?
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves
Length: 38,970 words
TWICE BITTEN NOT SHY
Vampires of Eternity
Lynne St. James
MENAGE AMOUR
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Amour
TWICE BITTEN NOT SHY
Copyright © 2012 by Lynne St. James
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-579-3
First E-book Publication: October 2012
Cover design by Christine Kirchoff
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
For my children, Jackie, Sarah, and Andy, who have put up with endless hours of me sitting at the computer. And then hearing, “Just a few more minutes, okay?” I love you!
Thank you to the Florida STaRs. I couldn’t have done it without all of your support. Very special thanks to Laura and Carolyn.
Last but definitely not least, thank you to Shira, Ann, and Tom. They were there every day to remind me I needed to keep going no matter what.
TWICE BITTEN NOT SHY
Vampires of Eternity
LYNNE ST. JAMES
Copyright © 2012
Chapter 1
Gwen stood naked…waiting. The heat radiating from the spotlight illuminated the doorway and warmed her fair skin. The portal loomed massive and black before her. She tasted the anticipation on her tongue as she tried to remain calm with her eyes lowered, her black shoulder-length hair falling forward and shadowing her face as she tilted her head down. A frisson of yearning raced through her, and dampness pooled between her legs. How much longer would she be required to stand here?
The door slowly sighed open. Still, she stood rooted to the ground. Gwen raised her violet eyes and peered into the doorway, hoping to see why she was brought to this place. Anticipation weaved its way up from the pit of her stomach until she could barely breathe. Blackness caressed her, enfolded her into its depth, and thrilled and taunted her with its whispered promises.
A soft mist floated from the open threshold. Rooted to the ground, she stood there and allowed the haze to enfold her softly rounded body. At once, she felt hands everywhere, touching, caressing, and titillating her senses. Cool fingers stroked her nipples, gently pulling, pinching, and playing with them until they were tight peaks. Other hands trailed down her back to her ass, kneading and cupping her soft cheeks. Gwen had never been as aroused as she was at that moment. Every touch and breath left her wanting more. She yearned to feel as she was being felt, yet she still could not move.
The hands that had been playing with her nipples continued slowly down her voluptuous body, leaving a trail of heat in their wake. She moaned as fingertips slid between her lower lips. Gwen strained to push into the fingers, only to be frustrated by her inability to move. She vibrated with need as slippery wetness ran down her thighs.
“Please…please…”
The buzz of the alarm clock pulled her back to reality. Gwen sighed. She realized it was the same dream she’d been having for the last few months, except this time the door opened. Heat rose in her cheeks as the memories of the dream flooded through her brain.
* * * *
Gwen pulled up to the address Brianna had given her. What the hell? No freakin’ way. Momentarily stunned, she stared out of the car window at the imposing threshold of the old brownstone. Could it really be the same doorway she had visited in her dreams for the last few months? This must be some kind of a sick cosmic joke. She dug her phone out of her purse and called Brianna, her assistant and best friend.
“Hey, Bree, are you sure that you gave me the right address for this meeting?”
“Um, let me check. 4969 Raven Street?”
“Yeah, but I don’t recall ever seeing this building here before. It’s weird.”
“Is something wrong? You don’t sound like yourself?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just a little off this morning. I wonder what the hell Roger has gotten me into this time. Anyway, I’ll call you when I’m done here. Thanks as always.”
“Sure, no problem, boss lady. Talk to you later.”
“This can’t be,” she whispered to herself while stepping out of her cherry-red Mustang. You have entered the Twilight Zone. Gwen almost giggled at the thought of her favorite old TV show. She could hear Rod Serling’s voice in her head as she approached the doorway, her steps not quite as steady as usual. It’s just a coincidence. You really need to get over yourself already.
As Gwen reached out to knock on the ornately carved door, it swung open. Her fingers hadn’t even touched the surface. Holy shit. The most gorgeous man she’d ever seen was standing in front of her. Tall, dark, and handsome did not do him justice. Her gaze wandered from his black leather slip-ons to his strong chiseled face. She took in every gorgeous inch of him.
He regarded her intently with eyes the color of brilliant blue sapphires. The tight fit of his black T-shirt accentuated his broad chest. It was tucked into black jeans, which hugged his body like they were painted on and left very little to the imagination. She felt her cheeks color when she realized she was staring.
“Gwendolyn Harris?
“Yes.”
“Welcome to Eternity. I’m Sebastian Ashford.”
Snapping out of her reverie at the sound of her name, Gwen was back in business mode.
“Good morning. Umm…eternity?” She held out her hand in greeting. Instead of shaking it as she had expected, Sebastian lifted it to his mouth. His lips gently grazed the back of her hand. Heat spread throughout her body while an eerie sense of déjà vu caused her to shiver slightly. Eternity? What the fuck?
“Yes, it’s the name of our club. Won’t you come in?”
“Of course.”
“My business partner, Christian St. John, is waiting for us in the office. And please, call me Sebastian. No need to be formal.”
“I agree. You can call me Gwen.” With a deep breath, Gwen put one navy pump in front of the other and stepped across the entry. She looked around and released the breath she had been holding. It looks like every other brownstone. Why did I get myself so worked up? Damn dreams.
Sebastian led her over to the elevator and pushed the button. The doors glided open, and they stepped in. Gwen almost snorted when the first strains of Aerosmith’s “Love in an Elevator” seeped into her consciousness.
“Christian and I have been best friends for longer than we can remember. It made perfect sense to go into business together as well,” Sebastian explained as he led her down the emerald-green carpeted hallway. The walls were painted a light taupe color and decorated with what looked like Monet paintings. These are some great reproductions. She wanted to take a closer look, but she was already struggling to keep up with Sebastian’s long strides. They passed several doors along the hallway, but all of them were closed. This could be any office building in the city, and yet I’ve still got that weird feeling.
As he continued to speak, Gwen wondered where he was from. She could detect the hint of an accent, but it wasn’t pronounced enough to determine the origin. His English was just too precise to be his first language.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why we didn’t give your assistant much information prior to this meeting.”
It took Gwen a few seconds to realize that he had asked her a question. She had been too busy absorbing her surroundings.
“Yes, I had. I like to have more information before a first meeting, usually. It makes for a much more constructive meeting. But since that is not the case this time, I guess we’ll just have to work our way through the details today.”
“I do apologize. Roger said that you would be discreet, but Christian and I wanted to meet you first. Since we haven’t unveiled any information to the public, we are keeping a very tight cap on all the details.”
“I understand completely. But if we are to make your deadline, we have a lot of work to get done in a short period of time.”
“Yes, Gwendolyn, that is very true.” She loved the sound of her name as he said it. He made it sound so sensual as it poured from his perfect lips.
“I definitely need more sex,” she mumbled to herself.
“Excuse me, did you say something?”
“No, not at all.” But her blush gave her away. I barely whispered that. How did he hear that?
Sebastian’s sudden hungered gaze sent a spike of lust all the way to her core. She wondered if she’d be able to get to know him beyond their business dealings.
Gwen worked to get her raging hormones back under control by focusing on the reason she was here. “So how do you know my ex-husband if you’re new in town?”
“He came highly recommended by some friends of ours. They gave us his business card and told us to look him up. We’ve been searching for just the right property for years. It seems as though we have finally found it.” He sounded almost relieved, and once again she wondered what all the secrecy was about.
They stopped at the very last door at the end of the hallway. Sebastian gave a soft rap before opening it, but he didn’t wait for acknowledgement to enter.
* * * *
Christian sat behind the desk and waited for Sebastian to bring her to him, actually them. Gwendolyn had to be the one they had searched for. The key to the puzzle they had tried to solve for over four hundred years. Their maker, Demetria, that bitch, hadn’t told them that without their true mate they would weaken and eventually die. The gradual loss of their powers was bad enough, but the pain they experienced daily was excruciating. He wasn’t sure how much longer they had before they would simply cease to exist. Sebastian had been feeling it more than he, but they both had noticed the changes. There were so many things they couldn’t do now. Things they had taken for granted since they had been turned. She had to be the one.
She’s absolutely perfect. Sebastian’s voice popped into his head. Telepathic abilities had saved their skins quite a few times over the years. It was definitely one of the advantages of being a vampire.
Is she the one?
Wait until you see her. There is definitely something different about this one. I know we’ve been disappointed before, but even my pain eased a bit when I touched her.
Christian smiled widely. Sebastian sounded hopeful for the first time in centuries. Maybe they had finally done it, found her at last.
Even if she is the one, we still have a long road ahead of us. And not a lot of time to convince her. Christian didn’t want Sebastian losing sight of the fact that it wasn’t enough to just find her. Sebastian was always the patient one, but lately the pain had been worse. He had tried to hide it from Christian, but they were too close, and it was obvious to Christian that they didn’t have much choice. He prayed she was the one, and that she would want to come to them and become one of them. In order for the curse to be broken, she had to fall in love with both of them and be turned by them of her own free will. What good was it being a vampire if you spent every day suffering and hoping to find the one who could make you immortal? They needed to break this curse, and they needed to do it very, very soon.
Chapter 2
“Gwendolyn, I’d like you to meet Christian St. John.”
As Christian stood up, Gwen’s eyes widened. If Sebastian was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome, Christian St. John was a Greek god. His shoulder-length blond hair was so pale it looked like spun platinum. He was as tall if not taller than Sebastian, and he towered over her when he stood up. She was overwhelmed by the two of them. These guys should be on the cover of GQ. They are gorgeous. Also garbed in a solid black T-shirt and jeans, which hugged his physique like a second skin, she couldn’t help but notice he was not lacking anywhere.
Caught staring for the second time since she walked through the front door, she flushed and quickly held out her hand.
“Welcome to Eternity,” Christian said as he took her proffered hand and raised it to his lips.
What is it with these guys? Don’t they realize what century we’re in?
“Thank you, Mr. St. John. This is quite a place you have here…”
Christian’s deep-cho
colate eyes twinkled. “Please, call me Christian, and as far as all of this”—he gestured with his hand—“you have no idea, but you will.”
“Um, yes, I’m sure I will. I’m Gwen.” She felt uncertain and off balance. These guys were overwhelming and glorious specimens of manhood. But when they stared at her she felt like dessert. Roger and I are going to have to have a talk. He needs to stay out of my business life.
“Now that we’ve gotten the introductions out of the way, I think we have some business to discuss, gentlemen?”
Sebastian held a chair for her at the small conference table in the corner of the office. “But of course, Gwendolyn. We really do appreciate that you had the time to meet with us today. We are on a very tight schedule, and the urgency could not be helped.”
“No problem. But since I have no idea what kind of a party you want, or for how many, or when, or where, or what, I think we need to get started.” More comfortable now that she was back in business mode, Gwen opened her laptop. While it was starting up, she glanced around at her surroundings. The carpet was plush and a deep, forest green, as were the drawn draperies. The walls were painted a pale gray, which enhanced the richness of the green. The furniture looked antique to her, but she wasn’t sure. It was all very masculine and elegant looking. Three of the walls were lined with bookcases from floor to ceiling and filled to capacity. Quite a collection. I wonder if they have read them all?
Twice Bitten Not Shy [Vampires of Eternity] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 1